Power Doppler sonography was used in eight symptomatic knees in seven patients with arthritis before and after joint aspiration and intraarticular administration of steroids. A qualitative decrease in synovial perfusion was observed in all eight knees, and symptoms improved in seven of the eight cases. These preliminary data suggest a role for power Doppler sonography in assessment of serial changes in synovial inflammation.
Objective. To evaluate involvement of the transcription factor nuclear factor KB (NF-KB) in the increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) stimulated by interleukin-lp (IL-1p) in primary rheumatoid synoviocytes.Methods. We treated early-passage rheumatoid synoviocytes with IL-lp and examined the time course of NF-KB translocation to the nucleus by Western blot analysis, as well as NF-KB binding to the COX-2 promoter/enhancer by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. We correlated the time course of NF-KB binding with expression of COX-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein. Synoviocytes were then treated with either sense or antisense phosphorothioate-modified oligonucleotides derived from the transcription start site of the human NF-KB p65 RNA. We analyzed NF-KB binding to the COX-2 promoter and COX-2 protein levels after these treatments.Results. IL-1p rapidly stimulated the translocation of the p65, p50, and c-re1 NF-KB subunits from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated binding to 2 NF-KB sites within the COX-2 promoter/enhancer, with a time course identical to that of nuclear localization of NF-KB. Supershift analysis revealed that binding activity was due primarily to the p65-p50 heterodimer and the p50 homodimer. Submitted for publication June 7, 1996; accepted in revised form August 21, 1996. mRNA and protein were increased. Pretreatment of RA synoviocytes with NF-KB p65 antisense oligonucleotides resulted in decreased binding to the COX-2 promoter and decreased COX-2 protein expression.Conclusion. These data demonstrate that signaling via the NF-KB pathway is involved in regulation of COX-2 expression induced by IL-1p in RA synoviocytes.
Whole-body turbo short tau inversion recovery imaging is a convenient complete method of evaluating patients with muscle inflammation caused by polymyositis. This imaging technique allows us to evaluate the total inflammatory burden by revealing multiple muscle groups not seen with standard protocols.
H. pylori associated acute and chronic antral inflammation was associated with immunohistochemical detection of COX-2 protein in epithelial cells, in addition to associated mononuclear cells and parietal cells. Expression was reduced, but not eliminated, in the epithelium after successful eradication of H. pylori. Despite the reduction in COX-2 expression after H. pylori eradication, expression of COX-2 in epithelial cells remained and strongly correlated with the extent of the chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate. The clinical implications of H. pylori-associated induction of COX-2 expression for patients on selective COX-2 inhibitors, in addition to the role of COX-2 in gastric carcinogenesis, deserve further study.
Helicobacter pylori is present in up to 87% of patients with nonulcer dyspepsia. This study assessed the effect of eradicating Helicobacter pylori infection on the symptoms of nonulcer dyspepsia at four weeks and one year after treatment. Dyspepsia was assessed on the frequency and severity of six symptoms [epigastric pain (night and day), nausea and vomiting, upper abdominal discomfort, and regurgitation] where each symptom was scored from 0 to 4. Helicobacter pylori status was assessed before treatment and four weeks after treatment with histology and microbiology, and at one year with a carbon-13 urea breath test. Eighty-three patients (23 males, 60 females; mean age 56.3 years; mean symptom duration 3.6 months) with nonulcer dyspepsia and Helicobacter pylori infection entered the study. Seventy-five were available at one year follow-up. Four weeks after treatment, the mean symptom score improved in those with eradication (6.95-2.3, P = 0.01, N = 41) or persistent infection (6.69-3.0, P = 0.015, N = 42). At one year, those with persistent Helicobacter pylori infection (N = 38, score 5.24) had a higher score than those remaining clear of infection (N = 24, score 1.4, P < 0.0001) and those with reinfection (N = 13, score 2.2, P < 0.0001). In addition, persistent Helicobacter pylori infection was associated with more additional treatments than those with eradication (34/38 versus 4/37, P < 0.001). These results suggest that Helicobacter pylori plays an important role in the symptoms of nonulcer dyspepsia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.